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PORTLAND, Ore. – A man suspected of being a serial killer in the greater Portland area was one of many inmates released early from an Oregon state prison by former Democrat Gov. Kate Brown, according to officials.
The suspect linked by detectives to four of six homicides involving women in the Portland area was identified as local resident, 38-year-old Jesse Lee Calhoun, according to Willamette Week.
In 2021, then Gov. Brown granted Calhoun clemency, thus releasing him from prison 12 months early. This occurred as Brown began to issue mass commutations to more than 1,000 prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included early release of inmates that were in one of three categories: 1) Vulnerable to the virus (weren’t we all?); 2) Nearing the end of their sentences (loosely defined); 3) Considered well-behaved (a flawed, subjective standard).
Many in the law enforcement community have criticized the “COVID clemencies” as a poor excuse to exercise partisan “criminal justice reform” politics. i.e. part of the greater “decarceration” movement.
Calhoun has been described by investigators as a “prolific thief and career criminal.” As the multiple homicide investigations are underway, his clemency has since been revoked and he has been placed back into custody, Post Millennial reported.
For her part, Brown’s comments after Calhoun was taken into custody were appeasing and lacked accountability. Once she learned of the man’s arrest, she told Willamette Weekly: “I’m absolutely horrified for the victims, their families, and all those who have experienced this loss.”
The Oregonian reported that the bodies of six young women had been found in the greater Portland area, prompting speculation of a potential serial killer. Those bodies included Kristin Smith, found in Southeast Portland on Feb. 19; Joanna Speaks, found in Ridgefield, Washington on April 11; Charity Perry, found at Ainsworth State Park on April 24; and an unidentified woman, also found on April 24, in Lents; Bridget Webster, found in Oregon’s Polk County on April 30; and Ashley Real, found in Clackamas County on May 7.
Originally, the Portland Police Bureau released a statement on June 4 indicating the department had “no reason to believe these 6 cases are connected.”
However, that determination quickly changed on June 6 once three of the victims “shared similar circumstances and had frequented the same places in the months before their deaths, according to a source close to the investigations,” The Oregonian reported.
“It was premature to state that these deaths are unrelated or related,” the source said. “Investigators always look for commonalities with unsolved homicides.”
Once the murders of three victims were connected, prosecutors contacted Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s office regarding Calhoun, which prompted the governor to end Calhoun’s commutation, allowing for him to be taken back into custody.
“The governor’s office received a request to revoke Jesse Lee Calhoun’s commutation status from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office on July 3, 2023, and fulfilled the request the same day. We do not have further comment as this is a pending investigation,” Gov. Kotek’s spokeswoman, Elisabeth Shepard said.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and the Portland Police Bureau released a joint statement on Monday, saying detectives had identified an unnamed “person of interest” linked to the deaths of Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Ashley Real.
Calhoun was taken into custody during a multi-agency manhunt that included the Multnomah and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Offices and the U.S. Marshals Service. During the arrest, he tried to evade capture by plunging himself into the Willamette River in Milwaukie. Law enforcement personnel subdued him in the body of water and took him into custody.
According to jail records, Calhoun is currently housed at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, where he was booked July 6 on charges unrelated to the murders. He has not yet been charged in any of the women’s deaths, although officials expect that will change. The charges on which he is being held do not appear in online court records, which is unusual, Willamette Week reported.
Calhoun has an extensive criminal history involving several felony convictions dating back to 2004.
It’s noteworthy that in 2018, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office arrested Calhoun with an unspecified amount of methamphetamine, several guns, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition. At the time, they referred to him as a “prolific thief and career criminal,” according to the news outlet.
In 2019, Calhoun pleaded guilty to multiple felonies which included burglary, unauthorized possession of a stolen vehicle, and injuring a police officer and a police service dog, Post Millennial reported.
Hence, the career criminal has served multiple prison sentences, with the longest being 50 months. Yet he was selected by the former governor for clemency.
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Source: www.lawofficer.com